Last week, 15 West Virginia University McNair Scholars traveled to New York to participate in Binghamton University’s 2003 McNair Research Conference, with seven presenting the results of recent research projects.

McNair Scholars are first generation college students and minority college students preparing for graduate education. The program bears the name of Ronald E. McNair, who died along with six of his astronaut colleagues aboard the Challenger space shuttle in 1996.

The following WVU scholars and their topics are:

  • Seema Aggarwal , liberal arts and sciences major from Morgantown,”HIV/AIDS, Libraries and Pre-schools: A Three-Part Analysis of Western Kenya,”Faculty Mentor: Dr. Ruth Kershner
  • Angela Derk , a secondary education major from Middletown, Pa.,”International Students’Attitudes Toward American Education at West Virginia University,”Faculty Mentor: Dr. Norman Lass
  • Christa Dodd , a psychology major from Ellenboro,”Behavioral and Emotional Problems Among Pediatric Burn Patients,”Faculty Mentor: Dr. Christina Adams
  • Wenda Harris , an English major from Boston, Mass.,”’Come Kiss and Be Kissed’: Caribbean Culture in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God,”Faculty Mentor: Dr. Katy Ryan
  • Jodie Hoover , a geography major from Brownsville, Pa.,”Climatic Influence of Fire History on Ponderosa Pine Forests on the East Slope of the Cascades, Washington State,”Faculty Mentor: Dr. Amy Hessl
  • Gabe Tapia , a math major from Morgantown,”Bilinear Congruence Relations,”Faculty Mentor: Dr. Michael Mays
  • Gina Zirilli , a communication major from Richwood,”Sex on TV: A Content Analysis of Television’s Sexual Relationships,”Faculty Mentor: Dr. Brian Patterson

For information on the program, call 293-4316 or visit www.wvu.edu/~mcnair